Countdown to Extinction

Megadeth guns for arena thrash success and gets it on Countdown to Extinction. Megadeth trades in its lengthy, progressive compositions for streamlined, tightly written and played songs more conducive to radio and MTV airplay. The album reached #2 on U.S. Billboard charts, was certified double Platinum in 1992 and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category in 1993.

SKIN O' MY TEETH

SKIN O' MY TEETH

I had wrists donning slitsFlowing constantlyMy broken body in a wreckWrapped around a treeA crosswalk hit-and-runThe finish line for mePeople clutter in the gutterTake a look and see

No escaping painYou belong to meClinging on to lifeBy the skin of my teeth

My blood flows through the streetsDeluge from the woundsEmpty jars of sleeping pillsOn the dresser of my roomMy wet-brained neighbor cranesHis neck to seeIn time the white light's a trainBearing down on me

No escaping painYou belong to meClinging on to lifeBy the skin of my teeth

Solo - Friedman

I won't feel the hurtI'm not trash any longerThat, that doesn't kill meOnly makes me strongerI need a ride to the morgueThat's what 911 is forSo tag my toe and don't forgetTo close the drawer

No escaping painYou belong to meClinging on to lifeBy the skin of my teeth

SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION

SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION

You take a mortal manAnd put him in controlWatch him become a godWatch people's heads a-roll

Just like the Pied PiperLed rats through the streetsWe dance like marionettesSwaying to the Symphony of Destruction

Acting like a robotIts metal brain corrodesYou try to take its pulseBefore the head explodes

Just like the Pied PiperLed rats through the streetsWe dance like marionettesSwaying to the Symphony of Destruction

Just like the Pied PiperLed rats through the streetsWe dance like marionettesSwaying to the Symphony of Destruction

ARCHITECTURE OF AGGRESSION

ARCHITECTURE OF AGGRESSION

Born from the dark,In the black cloak of nightTo envelop its prey below,Deliver to the lightTo eliminate your enemy,Hit them in their sleepAnd when all is won and lost,The spoils of wars are yours to keep

Great nations, built from the bones of the deadWith mud and straw, blood and sweatYou know your worth when your enemiesPraise your Architecture of Aggression

Solo - Friedman

Ensuing power vacuum,A toppled leader diesHis body fuels the power fireAnd the flames rise to the skyOne side of his face, a kiss,The other genocideTime to pay with your ass,A worldwide suicide

"Fight for America"

"Everybody knew that the 15thOf January was the deadline date.By kicking the war off, once the war was overPeople would be able to go home."

Solo - Friedman

Born from the dark,In the black cloak of nightTo envelop its prey below,Deliver to the lightTo eliminate your enemy,Hit them in their sleep,And when all is won and lost,The spoils of war are yours to keep

Great nations, built from the bones of the deadWith mud and straw, blood and sweatYou know your worth when your enemiesPraise your Architecture of Aggression

FORECLOSURE OF A DREAM

FORECLOSURE OF A DREAM

Rise so high, yet so far to fallA plan of dignity and balance for allPolitical breakthrough, euphoria's highMore borrowed money, more borrowed timeBacked in a corner, caught up in the raceMeans to an end, ended in disgracePerspective is lost in the spirit of the chase

Foreclosure of a dreamThose visions never seenUntil all is lost, personal HolocaustForeclosure of a dream

Barren land that once filled a needAre worthless now, dead without a deedSlipping away from an iron gripNature's scales are forced to tipThe heartland dies, loss of all prideTo leave ain't believing, so try and be triedInsufficient funds, insanity and suicide

Foreclosure of a dreamThose visions never seenUntil all is lost, personal HolocaustForeclosure of a dream

Now with new hope, some will be proudThis is no hoax, no one pushed outReceive a reprieve and be a pioneerBreak new ground of a new frontierNew ideas will surely get byNo deed, or dividend. Some may ask "Why?"You'll find the solution, the answers in the sky

Solo - Friedman

Rise so high, yet so far to fallA plan of dignity and balance for allPolitical breakthrough, euphoria's highMore borrowed money, more borrowed time

Foreclosure of a dreamThose visions never seenUntil all is lost, personal HolocaustForeclosure of a dream

Feeling paranoidTrue enemy or false friend?Anxiety's attacking meAnd my air is getting thinI'm in trouble for the thingsI haven't got to yetI'm chomping at the bitAnd my palms are getting wetSweating bullets

Hello me, it's me againYou can subdue, but never tame meIt gives me a migraine headacheSinking down to your levelYea, just keep on thinking it's my faultAnd stay an inch or two outta kicking distanceMankind has got to knowHis limitations

Feeling claustrophobicLike the walls are closing inBlood stains on my handsAnd I don't know where I've beenI'm in trouble for the thingsI haven't got to yetI'm sharpening the axeAnd my palms are getting wetSweating bullets

Well, me, it's nice talking to myselfA credit to dementiaSome day you too will know my painAnd smile its "black-tooth grin"If the war inside my headWon't take a day off I'll be deadMy icy fingers claw your backHere I come again

THIS WAS MY LIFE

THIS WAS MY LIFE

It was just another dayIt was just another fightIt was words strung into sentencesIt was doomed to not be right

There is something wrong with meThere is something wrong with youThere is nothing left of usThere is one thing I can do

Lying on your bedExamining my headThis is the part of me that hatesPaybacks are a bitchI throw the switchSomewhere an electric chair awaits

Hey! This was my lifeHey! This was my fate

This was the wrong thing to doThis was the wrong one to be doingThis was the road to destinyThis was the road to my ruin

Now there's motives for the suspectNow there's nothing left to sayNow there's method to the madnessNow there's society to pay

Lying on your bedExamining my headThis is the part of me that hatesPaybacks are a bitchI throw the switchSomewhere an electric chair awaits

Hey! This was my lifeHey! This was my fate

In our life there is "if"In our beliefs there is "lie"In our business there is "sin"In our bodies there is "die"

Solo - Mustaine

This was my lifeThis was my fate

COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION

COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION

Endangered species, caged in frightShot in cold blood, no chance to fightThe stage is set, now pay the priceAn ego boost, don't think twiceTechnology, the battle's unfairYou pull the hammer without a careSqueeze the trigger that makes you 'Man'Pseudo-safari, the hunt is cannedThe hunt is canned

All are gone, all but oneNo contest, nowhere to runNo more left, only oneThis is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

Tell the truth, you wouldn't dareThe skin and trophy, oh so rareSilence speaks louder than wordsIgnore the guilt and take your turnLiars' anagram is "lairs"Man you were never even thereKilled a few feet from the cagesPoint blank, you're so courageousSo courageous

All are gone, all but oneNo contest, nowhere to runNo more left, only oneThis is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

Solo - Friedman

"One hour from nowAnother species of life formWill disappear off the face of the planetForever, and the rate is accelerating"

Solo - Mustaine & Friedman

All are gone, all but oneNo contest, nowhere to runNo more left, only oneThis is it; this is the Countdown to Extinction

HIGH SPEED DIRT

HIGH SPEED DIRT

Do it if you dareLeaping from the skyHurling thru the airExhilarating highSee the earth belowSoon to make a craterBlue sky, black deathI'm off to meet my maker

Energy of the gods, adrenalin surgeWon't stop til I hit the groundI'm on my way for sureUp here in the air this will never hurtI'm on my way to impactTaste the high speed dirt

Paralyzed with fearFeel velocity gainEntering a nearCatatonic statePressure of the soundRoaring thru my headCrash into the groundDamned if I'll be dead

Energy of the gods, adrenalin surgeWon't stop til I hit the groundI'm on my way for sureUp here in the air this will never hurtI'm on my way to impactTaste the high speed dirt

Jump or die!

Solo - MustaineSolo - Friedman

Dropping all my weightGoing down full throttleThe Pale Horse awaitsLike a genie in a bottleFire in my veinsFaster as I goI forgot my nameI'm a dirt torpedo

Solo - Mustaine

High speed dirt

Solo - Mustaine

Shit!

PSYCHOTRON

PSYCHOTRON

Assassin in stealthAssailant from HellImpervious to damageComputer onboardEngaged in a warNon-stop combatantMaybe not a mutantMaybe a man

CAPTIVE HONOUR

CAPTIVE HONOUR

Madness comes and madness goesAn insane place with insane movesBattles without for battles withinWhere evil lives and evil rulesBreaking them up, just breaking them inQuickest way out, quickest relief winsNever disclose, never betrayCease to speak or cease to breatheAnd when you kill a man you're a murdererKill many and you're a conquerorKill them all and you're a God

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,Have you reached a verdict?"

"Yes, we have 'Your Honour', we find the defendant guiltyOn all counts for crimes against all humanity"

"By virtue of the jury's decision and the powerVested in me by the stateI hereby sentence you to be incarceratedWith no possibility of parole for life"

No time for questionsNo time for the gamesStart kicking assAnd taking down the namesA long shit listA shorter fuseHe is untouchableAnd guarantees you'll lose

Captive honour, ain't no honour

Solo - Mustaine

Inside the bighouseHis nightmare unfoldsBefore he got thereHis man-pussy was soldBlack blanket welcomeThis tough guy's now a bitchPraying for deathIt can't be worse than this

Captive honour, ain't no honour

Solo - MustaineSolo - Friedman

Captive honour, ain't no honour

ASHES IN YOUR MOUTH

ASHES IN YOUR MOUTH

People have round shoulders from fairing heavy loadsAnd the soldiers liberate them, laying mines along their roadsSorrow paid for valor is too much to recallOf the countless corpses piled up along the Wailing Wall

Melting down all metals, turning plows and shears to swordsShun words of the Bible, we need implements of warChalklines and red puddles of those who have been slainDestiny, that crooked schemer, says the dead shall rise again

Where do we go from here?And should we really care?The end is finally here,God have mercy!

Now we've rewritten historyThe one thing we've found outSweet taste of vindicationIt turns to ashes in your mouth

Where do we go from here?And should we really care?The end is finally here,God have mercy!

If you're fighting to liveIt's O.K. to die!The answer to your question is"Welcome to tomorrow!"

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